Drug Policy

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Issue Information

While current drug policy criminalizes addiction and enforcement often targets low-income communities and people of color, the ACLU of Ohio works for fair and sensible drug policies that will support safe and healthy communities across Ohio.

What's Happening in Ohio

America’s addiction to incarceration has caused the prison population to skyrocket in the past four decades. Criminalization of addiction has fueled this increase.
Nearly half of all those incarcerated in state prisons are nonviolent offenders, and nearly half of those offenders ...

The Ohio General Assembly recently enacted a bill and is considering others to address addiction instead of further criminalizing it.

H.B. 170 – Opioid Overdose Prevention Prescription Access (enacted): expands the list of licensed health professionals, emergency responders, or peace officers who may prescribe or administer naloxone (commonly known as Narcan), a pharmaceutical drug used to counter the effects of an opioid overdose.

H.B. 363 – Immunity in Drug Related Emergencies (pending): provides immunity from criminal liability for those who seek help for either themselves or others when involved in a drug-related medical emergency.

In the 2011-2012 session, legislators passed sentencing reform legislation, a good first step in criminal justice reform. However, Ohio prisons are still at 128% capacity. In a recent article, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Mohr predicted that overcrowding ...

In the 2011-2012 session, legislators passed sentencing reform legislation, a good first step in criminal justice reform. However, Ohio prisons are still at 128% capacity. In a recent article, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Mohr predicted that overcrowding couldrise to 154.1%, if the department were to take a 10% budget cut[1].

The ACLU of Ohio recommends the following policy changes which will reduce the prison population:

Increase the number of earned credit opportunities for eligible inmates.[2]

The ACLU of Ohio is a founding member of Citizens for a Safe & Fair Cleveland, a coalition created to work towards unbiased law enforcement and judicial equity as related to drug laws.
In 2008, the coalition commissioned a study to ...

Using the report as a resource, the coalition successfully lobbied Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to change the city’s procedure for handling drug paraphernalia cases to reflect those followed by greater Cuyahoga County.

In spring 2012, the Ohio State Senate attempted to add a controversial provision to the state budget review bill that would have required some Ohioans to a take drug tests before receiving public assistance.
The provision was dropped after ...

In spring 2012, the Ohio State Senate attempted to add a controversial provision to the state budget review bill that would have required some Ohioans to a take drug tests before receiving public assistance.

Despite many assumptions to the contrary, government assistance recipients are no more likely to use drugs than the rest of the general population. In fact, 70 percent of all illicit drug users (not counting alcohol) ages 18-49 are employed full time.

The ACLU argues that mandatory drug testing violates the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable searches. Florida’s legislation has already been blocked by a federal judge, and an executive order from Florida Governor Rick Scott targeting state workers for mandatory drug tests has also been struck down.

In addition to their well-documented constitutional problems, these policies are also fiscally unsound. Florida also learned this lesson the hard way when they realized it cost the state more to reimburse those who tested negative than they would have paid out to those who tested positive.

An ACLU supporter recently wrote about his personal objections to this policy. Read about it here.

Nearly 20 percent of Ohio’s inmates come from Cuyahoga County, meaning that Cuyahoga Country residents are severely over-represented in state prisons. Much of this is due to biased enforcement of drug-related crimes, based on race and geography.
On June 16, 2011, ...

Nearly 20 percent of Ohio’s inmates come from Cuyahoga County, meaning that Cuyahoga Country residents are severely over-represented in state prisons. Much of this is due to biased enforcement of drug-related crimes, based on race and geography.

Although whites use and sell drugs at a similar rate to people of color, African Americans in Cuyahoga County are more likely than whites to be convicted of a felony drug offense. Suburban and out-of-town whites are more likely to receive a misdemeanor plea deal and access to diversion programs.

The ACLU of Ohio has focused on reducing disparities in Cuyahoga County through Citizens for a Safe and Fair Cleveland, a coalition that works for unbiased law enforcement and judicial equity for drug laws.

In 2008, the coalition found that many people of color in Cleveland were charged with felonies simply for having residue on paraphernalia. In other areas of the county, similar crimes were prosecuted as a misdemeanor. The coalition successfully lobbied Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to change the city’s procedure for handling drug paraphernalia cases to reflect those followed by greater Cuyahoga County.

Issue Information

While current drug policy criminalizes addiction and enforcement often targets low-income communities and people of color, the ACLU of Ohio works for fair and sensible drug policies that will support safe and healthy communities across Ohio.

What's Happening Nationally

On August 3, 2010, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act to reduce the sentencing disparity between powdered cocaine and crack cocaine to 18-to-1.
Previously under federal law, someone would need 100 grams of powdered cocaine to receive the ...

On August 3, 2010, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act to reduce the sentencing disparity between powdered cocaine and crack cocaine to 18-to-1.

Previously under federal law, someone would need 100 grams of powdered cocaine to receive the same sentence as someone in possession of one gram of crack cocaine. Although the myths surrounding crack cocaine have been dispelled, the disparity persisted for decades. This resulted in harsher punishments for people of color and devastated poor and minority communities.

In 1998, Congress enacted the Aid Elimination Penalty, which prevents anyone with a drug-related conviction from receiving federal financial aid, including Pell Grants or work-study. The provision hurts lower-income and minority students and families disproportionately, often preventing those who most ...

In 1998, Congress enacted the Aid Elimination Penalty, which prevents anyone with a drug-related conviction from receiving federal financial aid, including Pell Grants or work-study. The provision hurts lower-income and minority students and families disproportionately, often preventing those who most need assistance from getting it. It also punishes a student twice for the same crime: once at sentencing, and again by eliminating financial aid options.

Check out Injustice 101 from the ACLU’s Drug Law Reform Project for more information.

Issue Information

While current drug policy criminalizes addiction and enforcement often targets low-income communities and people of color, the ACLU of Ohio works for fair and sensible drug policies that will support safe and healthy communities across Ohio.